Obama avoids the word 'terrorism'

In the wake of Monday’s explosions following the Boston Marathon, politicians were parsing their words carefully on whether to call the event “terrorism.”

President Barack Obama did not refer to the blasts in Boston as a terrorist attack in his speech to the nation, though a senior White House official and other lawmakers did characterize the incident as such.

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“We don’t yet have all the answers but we do know that multiple people have been wounded, some gravely, in explosions at the Boston marathon,” Obama said from the White House briefing room earlier Monday. “[…] We still do not know who did this or why and people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts.”

Obama continued: “But, make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this and we will find out who did this. We will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

But a senior White House official reportedly said that the incident in which at least two people are dead was “clearly an act of terror.”

“Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror, and will be approached as an act of terror,” the official said on background.

Other politicians — including Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — also described the incident as terror.

“As members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, we will be continually updated of the situation,” said Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) in a public statement. “In the meantime, initial press reports that multiple improvised explosive devices may have been involved at this high profile national event bear the hallmarks of a terrorist attack.”

Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray also described the event as “terrorist acts” in a press conference following Obama’s remarks.

“We’re keenly aware of the potential consequences on these kinds of terrorist acts and the tragic consequences that are imposed upon victims of such situations,” Gray said at a press conference. “We want to assure people as best as we can that we are ready to respond and will continue to gather info and analyze as it becomes available.”

In his speech earlier Monday about the Boston bombings, he did not use the T-word at all.

Fox News’ Brit Hume and CNN’s John King said on their respective networks that they thought Obama was just making sure not to make a rush to judgement.

“I think he’s being careful. If this is a terrorist attack, as it looks so much like it is, we will know soon enough. There is no reason to rush characterization on that, in my opinion. I wouldn’t find fault with him for not saying that,” Hume said on Fox News.

King shared similar sentiments.

“It meets the definition of terrorism without a doubt,” King said on CNN. “[…But I think] the president was reflecting caution at least until we get more information.”

On Twitter, the politicos also took notice of Obama’s word choice — including NBC News’ Chuck Todd and The New York Times’ Nate Silver:

The race to call this a terrorist act confounds me. What is the downside of waiting for more information first?— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) April 15, 2013

There isn’t one MT @ samsteinhp: race to call this a terrorist act confounds me. What is the downside of waiting for more information first?— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) April 15, 2013

What matters: 1) who did it; 2) how they did it; 3) why they did it. What doesn’t matter: what we call it.— Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) April 15, 2013

Here’s a question: is an act of terror necessarily. terrorism?— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 15, 2013

Most important thing POTUS did not say: he did not use the word “terrorism.” Admin being very careful— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) April 15, 2013